Proscriptive Norms

What are proscriptive norms?

Proscriptive norms specify conduct that people are expected to avoid. Prescriptive norms specify conduct that people are expected to perform. For example, “do not litter” prohibits an action, while “put waste in the bin” directs an action.

Janoff-Bulman, Sheikh, and Hepp (2009) distinguish these orientations in moral regulation. Their studies examine differences between avoiding prohibited conduct and performing encouraged conduct, including how blame and credit are assigned.

Proscriptive, prescriptive, and injunctive norms

Both prohibitions and positive requirements can be injunctive norms, which concern social approval or disapproval. Descriptive norms instead concern what people actually do. A prohibition is therefore not a separate alternative to an injunctive norm.

How proscriptive norms are expressed

A prohibition can be stated in a written rule or communicated through an unspoken expectation and social disapproval. To understand its influence, examine what people believe is prohibited, how visible the expectation is, and what consequences they expect for breaking it.

The existence of a shared expectation does not by itself establish that the expectation is ethical or that communicating it will change behavior.